Pathology

Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the (a) functions and (b) terms of reference of the Policy Advisory Board for Forensic Pathology are; how, and for how long, the board was appointed; what the membership is and who the officers of the board are; how it is serviced; and how many times it has met in the last year; [41103]

(2) how many pathologists are approved for working with the police and coroners on suspicious deaths; what qualifications are required for a pathologist to be approved; in what circumstances a pathologist may be removed from the approved list; on how many occasions the disciplinary tribunal has met in the past 10 years; and what the results were of its deliberations. [41104]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 18 June 2002]: The Police Advisory Board for Forensic Pathology, advises the Home Secretary on forensic pathology matters with particular reference to the national aspects of forensic pathology services in England and Wales, such as appointment and accreditation, quality assurance, training and Research and Development. The Board was set up by the then Home Secretary in 1990; there was no specified time limit to the Board.

A copy of the Terms of Reference of the Board and a list of the current numbers has been placed in the Library.

Officers of the Board are Anthony Whitehead (chair) who is also the head of Science and Technology Unit (STU) in the Home Office and Trevor Rothwell (Secretary). The Board is served by the two officers and STU. The Board meets annually. It last met in January 2001.

There are currently 48 pathologists on the Home Office Register of Forensic Pathologist approved for working with the police on suspicious deaths.

Before applying to be put on the register pathologists must:

have a medical degree

be a member of the Royal College of Pathologists

have at least six months experience at an approved centre for training.

In addition they must also have either

the Diploma in Forensic Pathologists (through the Royal College of Pathologists)

or

the Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence (through the Society of Apothecaries).

A pathologist not found to be performing appropriately in the first two years of his or her time as a Registrant, can be removed from the Register as the initial approval is time limited. Otherwise pathologists can be removed from the register by invoking the Board's Complaints and Disciplinary Procedures. Suspension or removal from the register is dependent on the outcome of a hearing of a Disciplinary Tribunal.

In the last 10 years a disciplinary tribunal has been convened once. This Tribunal recused itself before the completion of the hearing.

15 Jul 2002 : Column 110W

WORK AND PENSIONS

Press Subscriptions

Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the newspapers subscribed to (a) Monday to Saturday and (b) on Sunday by his Department, stating for each subscription (i) the number of copies taken, and (ii) the annual cost. [52835]

Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 April 2002]: The information requested is in the table.

DWP Library subscription to Newspapers as of 26 April 2002

cost showing annual average figure

Newspaper

Number

Cost (£)

Monday-Friday

Financial Times

27

6,480.00

Times

21

2,016.00

Daily Telegraph

18

2,160.00

Guardian

19

2,280.00

Independent

18

2,160.00

Daily Mail

13

1,248.00

The Express

8

672.00

Daily Mirror

12

844.80

Sun

11

792.00

Eastern Daily Press

1

240.00

Le-Monde

1

240.00

Daily Star

7

504.00

Daily Record

3

252.00

Evening Standard

8

756.00

Evening StandardNews extra

10

840.00

Scotsman

4

480.00

Morning Star

2

288.00

Liverpool Echo

2

480.00

Manchester Evening News

1

240.00

Total number and (annual costs)

186

22,972.80

Saturday

Times

2

67.20

Daily Telegraph

2



Guardian

2

96.00

Independent

2

86.40

Daily Mail

1

28.80

The Express

2

24.00

Daily Mirror

1

21.60

Sun

1

19.20

Le-Monde

1

48.00

Daily Star

1

16.80

Daily Record

1

19.20

Scotsman

1

48.00

Total number and (annual costs)

17

475.20

Sunday

Sunday FT

8

384.00

Sunday Times

2

115.20

Sunday Telegraph

2

96.00

Sunday Observer

2

115.20

Sunday Independent

2

115.20

Mail on Sunday

1

52.80

The Sunday Express

1

48.00

Sunday Mirror

1

48.00

News of the World

1

31.20

Sunday People

1

31.20

Sunday Post



31.20

Scotland on Sunday



38.40

Sunday Business

1

24.00

Total number and (annual costs)

22

1,130.40

15 Jul 2002 : Column 111W

Ministerial Meetings

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Ministers and officials had meetings with representatives of (a) the Confederation of British Industry, (b) the Engineering Employees Federation, and (c) the Engineering Marine Training Authority during the last year; who they met; and what the subjects and outcomes of their discussions were. [62208]

Maria Eagle:
During the last year Ministers and officials have met with all three of these organisations on a number of occasions.

New Deal

Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many New Deal schemes (a) he and (b) his Ministers have visited since 7 June 2001; and if he will make a statement. [63447]

Maria Eagle:
Since 7 June 2001, Ministers in this Department have made over 30 visits to New Deal schemes and related events.

Carers

Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid to carers through benefits and services in each of the last five years. [65138]

Maria Eagle:
The requested information about benefit expenditure on carers is in the table.

Carers can also be supported by services provided by local authorities and the NHS. In addition, local authorities in England were given powers to make direct payments to carers and people with parental responsibility for disabled children in April 2001. Information about the amount of money disbursed as direct payments was not collected centrally. Expenditure on such payments made by local authorities in Scotland and Wales are matters for the Scottish Executive and for the National Assembly for Wales, respectively.

Benefit expenditure in Great Britain on carers199697 to 200102

£ million

199697

18,300

199798

16,950

199899

18,650

19992000

19,400

200001

19,400

Notes:

Based on estimates from the Family Resources Survey (FRS), 199697 to 200001, applied to actual benefit expenditure.

1. Figures are estimates based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS), applied to outturn expenditure on each benefit. 200001 is the latest year for which data are available.

2. Carers are those who give help on an informal basis, not as part of a paid job. This includes children who care for others.

3. On the FRS survey, what should be counted as care is not prescriptively defined. Respondents are asked about care between household members, and about care given to those outside the household.

4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for region, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.

5. Benefit receipt on the FRS is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting.

6. Figures are rounded to the nearest £50 million.

15 Jul 2002 : Column 112W

The carer status is a result of what the respondent says rather than the application on an objective definition.

Castle Award

Mr. Tynan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department has applied for a Castle award for equal pay. [65223]

Mr. McCartney:
The Department for Work and Pensions has not applied for a Castle award for equal pay. The Department is however, fully committed to ensuring that equal pay remains a priority. To achieve this objective, an equal pay review was commissioned in 200102, undertaken by independent consultants. The review was completed earlier this year and the findings are currently under consideration.